Silhouettes of a Renaissance
by LosingNothing
Summary: An old friend of Negi's visits Mahora while troubles begins to start in the shadows. Are the two related, or is the visitor simply just there for a delivery. Will Negi and his crew get involved with this new threat? Please read and review.


A few brief notes before the story:

1) I do not own Negima or the characters of the original Negima series.

2) The characters of the story not originally from the Negima series are, however, my own creation and as thus if you would like to use them please ask my permission.

3) Throughout the story, italicised dialogue is spoken in english. It is assumed that the rest of the dialogue is in Japanese (as the story takes place in Japan)

4) My interpretations of the characters may seem a little off at times. Please feel free to let me know when, as it is sometimes hard to nail the personality of a character and I would like to improve my story where possible.

Please read, review, and enjoy the story! Any comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

* * *

In this world, there's more than ninety million square miles of land that people can inhabit. Over the course of history, people have spread out over this area and formed small villages which eventually grew into large cities. Technology flourished and advanced, as more and more sophisticated items became more easily accessible to the ordinary man, and we eventually found ourselves in the present day where with the click of a button you can send a message from one side of the world to the other in seconds. The need for people to deliver hand written letters from one place to another has decreased and the remaining distributors and deliverers of letters and parcels have organized themselves into international organizations so that they can easier manage the delivery of such items. It is a boring, uniform process of traveling along paved roads from one city to the next in a system where hard work is only rewarded with monotony.

But that's only half the story, because that's only half the world.

* * *

The boy was taking a break on the stone bench on the side of the mountain. His clothes, as well as his short brown hair, were caked with mud from the rain last night. There was an empty water bottle next to the bench that he had used to rinse the mud off his hands, and there was a satisfied smile on his face. It was only a mile or two before he would reach civilization and then only a few more miles before he would reach the place he was travelling too, but instead of getting up and heading towards the comfort of the city, the boy simply sat there, crusted with mud from the slip he had earlier, enjoying the breeze through the trees of the smell of evaporating puddles.

After a melancholic period of sitting there with his eyes closed, the boy suddenly opened them up and began singing as he picked up a satchel that was leaning propped against the bench.

"A _Grandma wrote a letter  
She said I had to go  
I never knew what it said  
But who said I had to know?_

_It's to my dear Grandpa  
He lives down in the south  
No longer lives with Grandma  
Because she didn't like his mouth_

_But because this letter might be  
Able to reunite together my family  
I'll travel around and even waive the fee  
Because the journey is enough for me!"_

It was an old song he had learned when he first became a delivery boy several years ago. An older man who helped him find customers had taught it to him when he was getting ready to leave on his first delivery. The boy's brown eyes were lit up as he walked down the path singing the song with his satchel slung over his shoulder and the empty water bottle in his right hand he was waving about. After he finished the song he opened up his satchel, put the water bottle inside, and took out a bundle of letters, the top of which was addressed to a Konoemon Konoe.

Thinking back to when he left for his delivery the boy remembered the customer saying something that made him smile. "I hear that a certain trouble attracting, miniature mage in training is at Mahora Academy." The boy smirked to himself, wondering if that miniature trouble magnet would recognize him.

* * *

There was a sense of static in the room, as the teacher at the front of the classroom put down his chalk and turned around to the class. "Are there any questions?" Silence permeated throughout the classroom, "Then, class is dismissed." All of the girls in the class seemed to erupt into talk and idle chatter at once.

Some of the girls had gone up and approached the teacher saying things like, "Negi-Sensei, since there's no class tomorrow you should come karaoke with us!" or "We're going to get some tea, Negi-Sensei, do you want to come?" The small, child teacher in the center of the ruckus was stuttering in his replies.

"Uh-uhm, I would but … I want to go with you but you see … I have something to do later …" His responses seemed to fall on deaf ears as more requests came in until the door the room opened and an older woman came in.

"Negi-Sensei, the headmaster would like to see you. He says that there is a visitor he would like you to meet."

Glad to have an excuse to depart from the girls who had been mobbing him, Negi said, "Okay, I'm coming!" As quick as he could, Negi exited the classroom, following the older woman. Three of the students in the class, however, had still followed him. A few moments passed before Negi turned back and asked, "Uh, why are you following me?"

One of the girls responded, "I wanted to go see Grandpa anyways, and I'm curious to see who he wants you to meet."

Looking at the other girls, Negi replied, "Okay, well that explains Konoka-san, but Asuna-san and Setsuna-san?"

Looking slightly embarrassed, Setsuna replied, "I-I'm just escorting Setsuna-Ojou-sama."

The last girl, Asuna, however returned the question with, "Is there a problem with us following you? Are you worried about us meeting the person the headmaster is introducing you too?"

"N-No! I'm sure the headmaster wouldn't introduce me to anyone weird." As they rounded a corner the older woman stopped and opened a door. Inside the room was an older man sitting behind a desk laughing.

"Ah, I see you have finally arrived, Negi-Sensei. I'm glad you got my message in time." The three girls and Negi made a quick scan of the room and immediately began inspecting the boy standing near the headmaster.

He looked to be about Negi's age, maybe a little older. His skin was tanned, and his frame wasn't muscular. He looked to be a little taller than Negi and had brown hair and eyes. The thing that the four entering the room noticed the most however, was that he was coated in mud. Looking at the kid and eyeing him up and down, Negi asked, "Uhm, Headmaster, who is this?"

"You don't remember me?" asked the boy in a slightly disheartened tone. Negi looked real hard and then shook his head. "Okay," started the boy, "imagine that all the mud is gone, my hair is about eight inches longer and I'm about eight inches shorter." Still no response and the boy sighed and shook his head. "Imagine you're trying to study to become a great mage and I'm knocking on the window trying to convince you to come steal Mr. Lettin's apples with me so that I have someone to take the fall while I escape."

There was only a slight pause before Negi shouted out, "Thellin?" and went to embrace his friend before he stopped. "Uhm …"

"I'm muddy. I know."

"Why are you so muddy?" Asuna asked, interrupting the failed attempt at a heart touching reunion.

Sighing, the boy replied, "Well, it's a really long story. When I was on my way here to make a delivery I slipped and fell in some mud, so now I'm muddy."

"That's short!" came the immediate response from Asuna.

From behind his desk, the headmaster gave a slight "Ahem." Then, with the attention of those in the room, continued, "Thellin was here making a delivery for me and said that he had heard that Negi-sensei was teaching a class here. After hearing that he and Negi-sensei used to be friends, I decided it would be a good idea to call Negi-sensei here so that he could hopefully show Thellin to where he could take a bath and clean his clothes so that he might not leave a trail of dirt and grime everywhere he goes."

Putting his hands behind his head, Thellin replied, "Nah, more importantly than that, I want to talk with Negi for a few. It's not all that often that I get to talk with him so rather than waste time with something like a bath we should go talk and catch up." Then raising his hand, continued, "Let's put it to a vote. I vote for catching up."

Raising his hand, the headmaster replied, "Bath and clean clothes."

Looking slightly uncertain, Negi said, "Uhmm … Well, I think that a B-ba-"

"Neeeeeggiiiiiii …."

Lowering his head with a defeated looked, Negi quickly and quietly said, "Catching up."

With a triumphant, "Hah!" Thellin grabbed Negi's arm. "Two to one old man, catch you later."

Before he could get to far, however, Thellin heard three voices from behind him over near the door he had entered.

"Bath."

"Bath."

"Bath."

Looking over his shoulder at the three girls, Thellin was about to say something before the headmaster interrupted, "I believe that makes the vote four to two."

* * *

Thellin looked out over the spacious bath area and whistled, "Wow, so this is what the bath in a girls dorm looks like." He was wearing nothing but a towel, similar to Negi who was standing next to him. "Do you always bath in here, Negi?"

Shooting his friend a slightly cold look, Negi replied, "When I have too."

Laughing as he walked over to the shower area to rinse the mud off of himself, Thellin asked, "You still mad about that?" As no response came, Thellin said, "Hey, if I was going down I was taking you with me."

"You didn't have to tackle me into a puddle of mud!" said Negi exasperatedly. Thellin just laughed at him, though.

"You're a ten year old boy, a little mud should only make you stronger." Then, after a moment, Thellin added, "Besides, you wouldn't have followed me in here without a reason, and it's not like I'm going to be staying long."

There was a slight hesitancy as Negi weighed his words, then responded, "I guess," as he went over and joined Thellin and rinsing off the mud. "So, what have you been up to these last couple of months? I haven't seen you since I graduated."

After thinking for a moment, Thellin replied, "Really not too much. Just doing deliveries as usual, though I finally got the hang of travelling through the rifts." Then, turning to Negi, "How about you? Seems like you got a pretty nice gig here."

"There's been a lot going on over here," said Negi as he started drifting off in thought.

Interrupting Negi's train of thought that was going back to the spring trip he had taken with his class not that long ago, Thellin remarked, "Yeah, trying to get one of those cute girls in your class to be your partner I bet."

Negi's face immediately went red, "Who told you about that?"

There was a pause, then Thellin replied, "I was just joking. You mean you really-?" Negi made a slight 'irk' sound as Thellin continued, "Who? I bet it was one of those three chicks that were with you in the headmaster's office." Musing to himself, Thellin was going on, "Hmm, the one with the brown hair, the headmaster's daughter was pretty cute, and she seems to be pretty easy going. The girl with the sword is also pretty cute, but I think it's her shyness that would attract you more, because you would probably mistake it for her not liking you and then try and work extra hard to make her like you. Then there's the red haired girl," Thellin paused. "Not even going to touch that one." There was a pause, Thellin inspecting Negi and Negi not quite knowing what to say. "I bet you made all three them of your partners!" Thellin was half way through saying, "Just Kidd-"

"How did you know?" interrupted a very embarrassed Negi. There was a pause, as Thelin stopped what he was saying, staring at Negi who just realized that Thellin was originally joking.

Once again, Thellin burst out laughing, "Haha, you would, Negi, you would." Then after a moment, added, "Even the red haired one?"

"Asuna's not as bad as you think she is."

"Really? So, how bad is she?"

There was a short pause, "Well…"

From outside came a loud, and rather agitated, "I can hear you, you know!"

Negi had a look of dread on his face and Thellin slapped him on the back saying, "Sorry, we shouldn't talk about your girlfriend since she's right outside watching the door for us."

"I'm not his girlfriend!" came another annoyed response from outside.

"Sorry, sorry! Would you prefer the term _Sweetheart_?" asked Thellin.

"I don't even know what a _sw-swe-_ whatever that was, is, but from the way you asked it, no!" Thellin was laughing, and the situation suddenly reminded Negi of something that had happened years ago, except with a girl from his hometown, Anya, in place of Asuna. The memory brought a smile to Negi's face.

In a calm, low voice he said, "You're still the same as always."

Thellin looked over at Negi, who at first thought that there was a little bit of sorrow in his expression, but Thellin soon smiled. "You've changed, though. In the time I wasn't watching you became a player."

Embarrassed and slightly agitated, Negi responded, "Sometimes I wish you would change a little too."

* * *

After finishing up their baths and getting dressed, Negi in a change of his clothes and Thellin in the clothes he had arrived in that Konoka washed for him, the two boys went outside to walk around campus. It had been about two hours since Thellin arrived now, and as they were deciding where to go, a familiar figure came up and approached the two boys. "Good afternoon, Negi, Thellin."

"Yo, how ya been, Takamichi?" came the reply from Thellin as Negi gave a small bow.

Taking a short drag on his cigarette, Takamichi replied, "About the same as always. The headmaster has been looking for you, though, Thellin. He said he has something related to the letters you brought to talk to you about."

Scratching his head, Thellin asked, "Do you know what specifically he wants to talk to me about? I need to know whether or not it's actually worth it to go "

Sighing, Takamichi responded, "Still got that rebellious streak in you, I see. I don't know what he wants to talk to you about, but since those are letters are your job you should probably go and see what he wants. That is, unless you're not here for work, but just to try and get Negi in trouble."

"Just like the old days in the Pint-Sized Platoon? Don't worry, I'll go check in with the old man, and I can't chill with Negi all day anyways since I need to stop by the Princess of Darkness' place."

Giving him a curious and confused look, Negi asked, "The Princess of Darkness?"

Nodding, Thellin said, "Yeah, you probably don't know her since she normally just poses as a student, but there's a kind of dark and creepy vampire chick at the school who exchanges letters with her other dark and creepy vampire friends that I deliver. When I first took this job three years ago I thought she was around my age so I tried to recruit her for the Pint-Sized Platoon." Negi had a look of confusion, surprise, and slight terror.

"You tried to recruit Evangeline for the Pint-Sized Platoon?"

Raising his eyebrow, Thellin asked, "You know the Princess of Darkness?"

"She's one of my students! What did she do?"

Laughing, Thellin replied, "Exactly what you would expect she would."

"What does that even mean!" Negi asked slightly flustered.

"Why don't you ask her? I'm going to go meet with the old man to see what he needs; meet me at the Princess of Darkness' later!" Thellin smirked as he left, vanishing into the air.

There was silence for a moment before Negi turned to Takamichi and, with a drained expression, asked, "I shouldn't ask Evangeline what happened, should I?"

Chuckling, Takamichi replied, "Only if you want to get right in the middle of those two." Then, after making a quick survey of the area asked, "Since Thellin is likely going to be a little while with the Headmaster, do you have time to talk?"

Curious and slightly confused, Negi replied, "Sure, what do you need?"

Leading off to the area downtown, Takamichi said, "Let's go somewhere and get some tea while we talk. My treat."

* * *

Thus ends the first chapter. Any comments or opinions greatly appreciated. Thank you.


End file.
